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Editor:The term “professional” no longer has the slightest meaning in regardsto road racing in the United States, because now everyone is a pro - evenif they don't earn enough to pay for a bag of groceries and are workinga full-time job.We're looking at as many as 16 U.S.-based Division 3 pro teams in 2003- more than Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, and Spain combined.That's good, right? Wrong.The Division 3 Trade Team designation was created by the UCI as a developmentaltool, to allow younger racers the opportunity to compete in the pro ranks,albeit in lower-category

February is winding down after what’s been exciting start to the European racing season with only a few surprises. Some familiar names have already made a mark in the 2003 season, with Jaan Kirsipuu (AG2R) winning three races already, Rabobank’s Oscar Freire two and Saeco’s Danilo Di Luca taking Giro dello Liguria and Quick Step’s Paolo Bettini the Tour Mediterranean. Two-time U.S. champion Fred Rodriguez started off his season for Sidermec on a good note after taking the second stage of the Tour of Rhodes in Greece last Tuesday. His win is the first by a North American in Europe this year.

A last day at training camp in Italy should include the following: a relaxed 60km ride, a cappuccino in a cobbled Etruscan hill town, a hot shower, bruschetta, pizza, pasta, wine, veal, and a succinct post-dinner team meeting. The Navigators covered all these bases, if slightly stretching the definition of the word "succinct.” After sleeping in, they left for their ride at 11 a.m. It was the first day since their arrival that they wound slowly through the vineyards and hillsides, always at a tempo that encouraged conversation. Most of the guys stopped in the town of Cassale Marittimo to join

Italian Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo) had an easy time winning the would-be Spanish classic Trofeo Luis Puig on Sunday in Valencia. Petacchi easily handled Kelme’s Isaac Galvez to win the 178km race, which fell flat in its hyped showdown among the stars of sprinting, many of whom were MIA. Rabobank’s Oscar Freire, fresh off two wins at Ruta del Sol last week, fell ill to stomach flu and didn’t start. World champion Mario Cipollini was dropped on the opening climb to make a rather disappointing start to his 2003 season. And Telekom’s Erik Zabel finished more than two minutes off and

Cipo' - Not a brilliant debut

Rising French star Sylvain Chavanel (Brioches La Boulangère) delivered the goods in Saturday's 180km Tour du Haut Var, nipping Spanish rider Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel) to grab the victory. A 10-rider rider break went away at the Cote de Tuilieres with about 20km to go. With 2km to go, Chavanel, Sanchez, Cofidis' Andrei Kivilev and Stephane Goubert attacked off the group and came in for the sprint. Chavanel nipped Sanchez and Kivilev took third. "There were a lot of breaks in the last 10km, but nobody wanted to arrive at a final sprint with me," said Quick Step's Paolo Bettini,

Last week’s column on prize-winning candy wrappers and Internet self-help got the wheels turning, and I think I finally came up with a way to combine a get-rich-quick scheme with my current job. Coming soon to a Web column near you: cyberbegging. If all goes well, I’ll raise enough to put my kid through college, and it all goes really well, the readers could essentially buy me out of this Friday slot.While we’re working out the legal and ethical details, in order to make my life a little easier, I’m encouraging your mail. E-mail your questions or comments, and hopefully I’ll be able to do a

American Fred Rodriguez (Sidermec), won the second stage of Greece’s Tourde Rhodes on Friday.Rodriguez beat Holland’s Rudi Kemna and Czech rider Jan Svorada to thefinish at the end of the 120km stage, a large loop that left Rhodes traveledthrough Apollona and finished again in Rhodes.Rodriguez’s shot at a win was uncertain until the final kilometer ofthe race as a three-man breakaway headed by Vlaanderen-T Interim’s RudolfWentzel lasted from the day’s first sprint at 20km until the very lastkilometer.Sebastian Lang (Gerolsteiner), holds on to the overall lead, thoughhe he is now tied with

“Terrorism forces us to make a choice. We can be afraid. Or we can be ready.” – Tom Ridge, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security“Be afraid. Be very afraid.” – Veronica Quaife in “The Fly”A lot of people were making fun of Tom Ridge the other day, and I’d love to be able to say I wasn’t one of them. But having been raised amid the duck-and-cover slapstick of the Cold War, when a grade-school desk on an Air Force base was my best defense against a Soviet SS-7 ICBM, the notion of swaddling my World War II-era house in plastic and duct tape was a real blast (you should pardon the

Be prepared

He’s not ready to broach retirement talk just yet, but Marc Gullickson is smart enough to see the writing on the wall. While most of the high-profile mountain-bike teams have finalized their rosters for 2003, the 35-year-old finds himself without a contract very late in the off-season-signing game. “I’m still holding out hope, but it’s not looking great,” says the 10-year pro who spent the last three seasons with the Mongoose-Hyundai squad before being let go after the 2002 campaign. “They lost a couple co-sponsors, so now it’s just down to Todd [Wells] and Eric [Carter].” Gully, as he’s

MTB News and Notes: Gully, Green and the Olympics

Gully is a regular presence at 'cross world's

It's all about R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Juan Pascual Llorente takes the Ruta

Ivanov was the strongest in the break.

Alessio’s Ruslan Ivanov was simply stronger than four others in the breakaway that closed out the fifth and final stage Thursday in the 49th Ruta del Sol in southern Spain while Kelme’s Juan Pascual Llorente held on for final victory. Ivanov dropped Inigo Chaurreau (AG2R) and Gustavo Toledo (Paternina) on a Category 2 climb just 5km from the finish and unleashed a stage-winning attack on the flats with 1km to go. Jose Luis Martinez (Paternina) and Santi Blanco (Relax-Fuenlabrada) tried to hang on, but the veteran Alessio rider simply out-muscled the Spanish riders in the Ruta’s final

My boyfriend is considering getting his pro card either this year or next. What are the tax implications of this move? What if he still has a regular job? What if he does not? What specific of expenses can he write off, and does he have to somehow change his legal working status to reflect this? How about claiming either payment or product from sponsors Thanks so much,B.E. Dear B.E.,I am not a tax attorney and a good accountant will have more to say on the subject than I- so you should consult with one before making any decisions. However, I address some of the applicable issues below. By

In weather that’s more reminiscent of his home back in Holland than sunny Andalucia, Dutch rider Remmert Wielinga endured a long day in the saddle through cold, wind and rain to deliver Rabobank its third stage victory in the 49th Ruta del Sol. Wielinga – winner of a stage at the Mallorca Challenge earlier this month – outmuscled Kelme’s Ivan Parra and ONCE’s Joaquin Rodriguez to win Wednesday’s difficult stage, which featured no less than four category-two climbs. The trio peeled away from Quick Step’s Patrik Sinkewitz and Euskaltel’s Unai Extebarria on the final climb of the day. Parra

Rodriguez

The weather returned to normal in Andalucia

Javier Pascual Llorente

Wind blown: Tuesday's weather was a factor

Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood: The good, the bad and the ugly

Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood: The good, the bad and the ugly

Marco sporting a trim even Michael Jackson hasn't asked for yet... we think

Manitou 2004 World Exclusive!--Almost

Minute

Vogels (c) is the new guy, but with lots of experience.

The Navigators in Tuscany - Part IV

2002 Giro d’Italia champion Paolo Savoldelli’s injuries caused by a training fall last weekend in Spain are not as bad as originally thought, reports his Telekom team. In an interview posted on the team’s web page, Savoldelli said he didn’t break his jaw as originally feared and he expects to miss just two weeks of training after crashing in Tenerife on Saturday. “My guardian angel must have been with me,” said Savoldelli, recounting the accident. “We were riding and came upon some motorcycles and we each turned the same way. I slammed my face against his helmet. Luckily, I only broke my

There was a change in the weather in Spain’s Andalucia on Tuesday and a leadership change in the Ruta del Sol. The sun was nowhere to be seen as fog, cold and rain welcomed the peloton for the first stage in what’s called the “race of the sun.” Kelme’s Javier Pascual Llorente got out of the cold first, winning the Ruta’s 166-km third stage and catapulted into the overall lead. The stage from Sevilla was dead flat until it reached the short, but steep category-one climb to the Sanctuario de Nuestra Senora de Araceli high in the rugged mountains in southern Spain. The lead peloton split

Riders returning to the Navigators team from last year's squad unanimously mention Henk Vogels and Chris Wherry when discussing their excitement about the coming season. Bringing them on board is a big deal for everyone - including Vogels and Wherry themselves. "I'd been talking to Ed Beamon since about July of last season, but I was talking to other team directors as well," Vogels tells me. "And the main reason I decided to go with the Navigators is because of the European program." Vogels decided three years ago to race primarily in the States. However, he still has the goal of winning

The Federation of Independent Associations for Cycling (FIAC) says it’sfinally ready for prime time with its inaugural National Points Series.FIAC, an alternative to USA Cycling that comprises four breakaway associations- American Bicycle Racing, the American Cycling Association, CaliforniaBicycle Racing and the Oregon Bicycle Racing Association – plans an eight-raceseries, according to spokesman Les Earnest:• May 11: Monsters of the Midway Criterium, Chicago, Illinois• May 29-June 1: Mount Hood Cycling Classic Stage Race, HoodRiver, Oregon• June 20-22: Elkhorn Classic Stage Race, Baker,

New to the neighborhood this week - a quick rundown on the good, the bad, and the ugly in the pro peloton.The Good:A lot of reader feedback came in over the holiday weekend regarding last week’s piece, “Riding the 'Net: Top riders' Web sites.” We asked our readers to let us know of their favorite rider’s Web site, and the majority of e-mails we received read something like this: “How in the $*(#@$(#@ could you not include Tyler Hamilton in the first group of Web sites?” Rest assured, readers, Mr. Hamilton’s Web site was not overlooked, nor was it forgotten. The initial list was in

Paolo Savoldelli at the '02 Giro

Juan Fernandez, the sport director of Team Coast, is optimistic that Jan Ullrich will be able to come back to challenge Lance Armstrong in the 2003 Tour de France. Speaking to journalists during the Ruta del Sol, Fernandez says Ullrich is eyeing to come back to competition in late March, when his current suspension is set to expire. "I believe that he will comeback to be one of the strongest in the peloton," Fernandez said. "He's overcome his problems from last year and he has the motivation to be back on top." Fernandez, of course, is putting the best face forward for the team's

With team photos out of the way, and after quite a few long days on the bike, the guys got up this morning to put in another day at the office. "I think it's going to be a hard ride today," Ed Beamon tells me over breakfast. "Cool," I reply. "I was thinking of sitting this one out anyway." Yesterday I had trouble sitting on the back even while they were going intentionally slow to allow the photographer to take action shots from the follow car. So instead I stopped by the room of Glen Mitchell, Burke Swindlehurst, and Mark Walters, all returning team members from last year, to talk about

Ullrich and his Coast teammates training in Spain last month

This ain't training camp in Phoenix

Freire in leader's jersey celebrates No. 2

The Ruta del Sol lives up to its name.

Van Goolen almost made it.

Fassa Bortolo powered the stage-win in the team time trial Sunday in the finalstage of the 30th Tour Mediterranean while Italian Paolo Bettini gave the new Quick Step super-team its first stage-race win of the season with the overall victory. French rider Laurent Brochard (AG2R) had narrowed Bettini's hold on the race lead in Saturday's stage, but Quick Step-Davimaton kept things under control Sunday, finishing third behind winner Fassa Bortolo and a strong ride by second-place Rabobank. The win is the first of the season for the 2002 overall World Cup champion after finishing seven

Bettini

The fast Fassas

Giro d’Italia winner Paolo Savoldelli (Telekom) is recovering in hospital after being knocked over by a motorcycle during a pre-season training ride in Tenerife, Spain, Saturday. The Italian, one of the new stars recruited by the German Telekom squad, was admitted to a local hospital with fractures to his nose and mouth. He was due to be transferred to the university clinic at Fribourg-en-Brisgau in Germany to undergo surgery. Savoldelli had been expected to line up in the Telekom jersey for the first time in the Tour of Valencia in Spain on February 25. Another new face in his German

Savoldelli (with teammates Erik Zabel and Santiago Botero)

DeGroot still in yellow

El Chava

Notes from the road: I've got a purple ticket

Notes from the road: I've got a purple ticket

Ready to roll

The Navigators in Tuscany - Part II

Friday’s foaming rant: Riding with Lance

Riding the 'Net: Top riders' Web sites

Riding the 'Net: Top riders' Web sites

Marco Pantani is reportedly interested in signing another troubled star, Spanish climber Jose Maria Jimenez. The pair met while training in the Canary Islands and now Pantani wants Jimenez to join him at Mercatone Uno-Scanavino, according to a report in the Spanish sports daily AS. Pantani met Jimenez, nicknamed “El Chava,” in the same hotel in Maspalomas on Gran Canaria while training with teammates Daniel Clavero, Fabiano Fontanelli and Roberto Conti last week. According to AS, the team’s agents are interested in signing Jimenez, who missed most of last season suffering from depression. He

“In about 30 seconds, I’m gonna walk out of here and you’re allgonna be out of my life. And when the race is done, I’m going to go hometo my family, and then you’ll really be out of my life.”— Lance Armstrong, to the collected press at the conclusion of a Tourde France press conference in 2001. Yep, I’m still here, and I think I’ve already passed the over/underon how long this column would stick. I have to admit, though, that fora split second this week, I thought I was outta here, that I was goingto pull a Lance and be sitting on a beach somewhere, and that you wouldnever hear from me again

After two days of moderately difficult rides, the Navigators decided to head out for what was deemed an "easy" day in the saddle, though it hardly turned out that way. From the sound of things, the pace was easy for the 10km to Bolgheri, and then someone went to the front and turned on the gas. Henk Vogels wasn’t to blame this time - I saw him and Ryan Guay leaving quietly on their own, about 15 minutes after the rest, for a truly easy, flat 50km. Given my present level of fitness (or more accurately, the lack thereof), I skipped the ride entirely and caught up with the mechanics to discuss

"I love to, fundamentally, just ride the bike.”– Lance Armstrong in an interview with the Colorado Springs Gazette Lance Armstrong and I went for a ride in Colorado Springs the otherday. Not together, of course. Get real. He’s known to be going for a fifthconsecutive Tour, whereas I’ve been known to go for a fifth consecutiveGuinness. The day SuperTex thinks it’s smart to log a handful of qualitymiles with a wobbly 48-year-old tosspot is the day he’s decided to chopthe sleeves off an old maillot jaune and spend his daylight hourstowing the kiddies around the Redneck Riviera in a Burley

Over the past few years, rider Web sites have become common, featuringeverything from photos and results to forums and personal Web diaries.For some riders, such as world champion Mario Cippolini, the opportunityto personalize a site with design and flair is simply irresistible, whileother rider Web sites are simply the product of dedicated fans.To better prepare for the 2003 international race season, we offer aquick look at the Web sites of the UCI’s top-ranked riders.1. Erik Zabelhttp://come.to/erik-zabel2002 UCI points: 22692002 Team: Telekom2003 Team: TelekomWeb site language:

Spanish rider Joseba Beloki is one of those types of riders who never turns down a request for an autograph and always has a smile on his face. Despite three consecutive Tour de France podiums, however, he’s not regarded as a feared rider. With the absence of Jan Ullrich last year, Beloki bounced to second on the Tour podium. Still, it’s one very far step to knock off defending champion Lance Armstrong. In an interview with MARCA, a Spanish sports daily, Beloki admits he has to ride more aggressively if he hopes to seriously challenge Armstrong. “I think I need to change my attitude about

Can a local, small town, restrict bicycle use and mandate that bikes notuse a public road? A sidewalk is available. This is in a suburb of Houston, Texas.Thank for your time.DaveDear Dave;You raise one of the most frequently asked questions in cycling. Unfortunately, the answer varies widely from state to state, and many of the foundation cases in this subject are over a century old! Let's start with the general law that applies to your query and work our way to your specific situation. While the courts have long recognized a Constitutional right to travel, they have not recognized a

Training camp in Tuscany… there are worse fates. Members of the Navigators team trickled in from airports all over northern Italy last week. They found their way over golden hillsides, through vineyards and olive trees, to a tiny town called Castagneto Carducci, which – depending on what map you use – may or may not exist. They’re packed into the only hotel in a five-kilometer radius, six-foot-long bodies draped over micro-thin “twin” beds. Hotel Zi’Martino houses a multitude of professional and amateur European cycling teams for winter and early spring training camps. In fact, the

Just my luck. Take off on a road-race assignment halfway around the world just when half the pro mountain bike teams on the planet decide they’ve gotten their stuff together and are ready to announce their plans for 2003. So if you’ve really been paying attention you probably know a lot of this already; if not here goes. KONAFabien Barel didn’t do himself any favors when he missed his start time at last year’s world championships and was DQ’d from the downhill. But fortunately for the Frenchman, Kona has seen fit to take a chance on him. Barel’s joined by Kona holdovers Geoff Kabush, Peter

Beloki wants to change this year's Tour podium

Navigators in Tuscany

Wedge: A grip on reality

Barel: New contract. New watch?